Hello Talented People
I am wanting to know if there is a way to avoid the small rings/ridges in wood when pocketing.
I work mainly with wood, and every time I pocket I am having to sand it out.
My husband and I have checked all the wheels and made sure the z-axis is square, and have played around with adjusting path speeds. We use only easel. We have tried using different bits too and we are still getting the unwanted lines.
Any recommendations?
Thanks in Advance
Kasia
Can you post some pictures of the ridges you are speaking of? Maybe a close up. Are the ridges 100% flat or are they slanted, with one side being deeper then the other side of the cut?
Agreed, are the ridges the same shape as the bottom of the end mill you are using or is some kind of misalignment?
With a straight cut mill I’m getting very flat and clean cuts as below.
Cheers
Ian
Yeah, I’ve been doing a fair amount of pocketing and have been amazed at how smooth a result I’m getting. Maybe try a different bit? Also make sure your bit isn’t sticking out from the collet too far, that could cause a bit of chatter.
If the Z axis isn’t perfectly square with the bed, then the endmill will end up sort of dishing the surface when it cuts, depending on the direction it is moving. That is probably the source of the rings. But some kind of pattern is unavoidable especially in harder materials like plastic and metal, but it should be mild enough in wood to not be noticed, or at least to be easily sanded out.
Yes it looks like your Z axis is not 100% square to the bed. It could be that your Y axis is canted to the front or back. Or it could be that your Z Axis is ever so slightly slanted to one side or the ohter. Check the squareness on the overall gantry and Z Axis and it should fix your issue. I had the same for a while and it ended up being the Y Axis was slightly canted forward. Once I fixed that it did far better.
The machine wasn’t alined properly on the y axis. Everything’s all squared up now, and it’s cutting a million times better.
Thank you all for your help.
Do you guys mean the x axis? The one the spindle rides on? I thought the 2 side makerslides were the y axis? Or am i backwards? My machine does this same thing but cant figure out what you mean by y axis is canted forward.
What i call my x axis is sqaure to the wasteboard as is the spindle
